Steam spotting gun



Aug. 21, 1951 H. L. SCHWARTZ STEAM SPOTTING GUN Filed Sept. 28, 1948JNVENTOR. HERMAN L SCHWARTZ,

Patented Aug. 21, 1951 STEAM SPOTTING GUN Herman L. Schwartz, SanBernardino, Calif., as-

Signor to Robert L. Schwartz and Jess G. Stinson, both of SanBernardino', Calif., jointly Application September 28, 1948, Serial N 0.51,627

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to manually-operated steam guns, and particularlyto a spot-removing steam gun used in dry cleaning together withauxiliary control of the steam supplied thereto.

The main object of my invention is to provide a steam spotting gun ofthe character indicated with a special detachable spotting nozzleallowing convenient cleaning of the device at will.

Another object is to produce a simple and light construction for asteam-spotting gun which contributes to its convenience andeffectiveness in use.

A further object is to have such a manuallyoperated steam-spottinggunwhich by virtue of its special construction is safe to use at all times.

It is also an object of the invention to produce a novel steam-spottinggun as indicated which requires no special instruction or practice withrespect to the same on the part of those already familiar with the artin a practical way.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in furtherdetail as the specification proceeds.

In order to facilitate ready comprehension of this invention for aproper appreciation of the salient features thereof, the invention isillustrated on the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, and inwhich: a

Figure 1 is a slide elevation of a steam-spotting gun made according tothe invention and embodying the same in a practical form, certainportions being shown in section to disclose internal detail;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the steamspotting gun of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

In the views, the same reference numerals indicate the same or likeparts;

In dry cleaning, steam guns are frequently used for removing spots, suchguns being, usually connected to a source of steam supply by means of arubber hose or the like'and the flow of the steam controlled by afoot-operated pedal valve connected to the hose or steam-supply line.Ine-vitably, the rubber in the steam line begins to deteriorate anddecay and particles of various sizes of rubber begin to become detachedand carried along by the stream of steam traveling to the nozzle inwhich they become lodged, as well as in the gun immediately above thenozzle, and soon the latter is so'clogged as to interrupt an even flowof the steam to the garment'being cleaned. In fact, in a short time thenozzle involved becomes so seriously clogged as to be well nigh useless,and the whole steam gun must then be discarded and replaced by a newdevice.

Upon carefully considering this problem, it has occurred to me that thenozzle on such a steam gun should be detachable in a convenient manherso that the particles and fragments of decayed rubber and the like willbe blown out of the gun by a blast of steam when the nozzle is removedand the latter may be independently cleared out from the inside. As aresult, I have succeeded in evolving a manually-operated steam-spottinggun substantially free from the outlined disadvantages and which is soreadily and conveniently cleaned that it immediately is restored topristine condition, while incidentally I have also succeeded insimplifying and lightening the construction of the gunand providing forproper insulation by isolation of the handle thereof from direct contactwith the live steam line therein, as will now be fully explained.

Hence, in the practice of my invention, and referring again to thedrawing, a steam-spotting gun, generally indicated at 4, primarilyincludes a gun head 5 provided with a hook 6 by which to suspend the gunfrom a nail or hook when it is out of service, and arearwardly-extending tubular portion 1, to the interior passage 8 ofwhich is secured a copper or copper alloy steam tube 9 extending intothe rear end of the passage 8.

Preferably, the steam tube 9 is silver soldered within the tubularportion 1 this tube extending rearwardly through a wooden or plastichandle i Band at the rear end H thereof being connected to arubber steamhose IE or the like. The rear endof the tubular portion 1 on the gunhead 5 terminates in a plurality of radially-extending spacing fingersl3, I3 fitting into a counterbored recess It in the rear end of handlel0 and at least two of the fingers l3 being further provided withrearwardly-extending locating lugs l5, l5 extending into individualrecesses l6 which serve to prevent rotation of the handle withrespect tothe head 5;

Within the rear end of the handle Iii is a starshaped or cruciform nut Hwhich at the rear end is provided with a plurality of radially-extendinglocating fingers l8; l8 fitting in a counterbored recess is in the endof the handle. The steam tube 9 at this point is provided with anexternally-threaded collar 26 soldered or brazed iii-position" upon thetube and upon this collar the nut 41' is screwedup' tight so that thehandle is virtually confined in position upon tube 9 by means of thelocating fingers l3, l3 of the gun head 5 and the rear fingers |8, I8 ofnut |'l' at the other end of the handle. The latter is bored at 2| toprovide ample clearance between the handle body and the steam tube 9 inorder to isolate the handle from contact with the steam tube and therebyprevent conduction of heat therefrom to the handle, the ends of the bore2| being flared out at 22 and 23 to provide communication between thebore 2| and the spaces between the locating fingers l3, l3 at the oneend and l8, l8 at the other end of the handle so that the bore 2| willbe in direct communication with the atmosphere at both ends of thehandle, and thus provide ventilation past the steam tube 9, throughoutthe length of the handle, which definitely contributes to the cooling ofthe handle so that it may be manipulated while the live steam is flowingthrough tube 9 to the head 5.

In the steam gun head 5 the passage 8 is abruptly turned downward at 24and terminates in a downwardly-directed, open and externallythreadednipple 25 which is beveled or chamfered at the end 25 and adapted toreceive the inner flared end 21 of a steam nozzle 28 normally heldagainst the chamfered end 26 by means of a tapered retaining nut 29. Theupper hexagonal nut portion 30 of the tapered nut 29 is internallythreaded at 3| and screwed on the threaded nipple 25 in such fashion asto secure the nozzle 28 firmly in place in a steam-tight connection withthis nipple. At the lower end the nozzle 28 is widened and flattened toform a narrow steamspotting tip 32 wherein the narrow slit 33 forms theentire port of issue for the steam when operating the gun. It isself-evident that small particles of dirt, rubber and other debris fromdecaying tubes if propelled forward by the steam toward this narroworifice 33 will become clogged in the tip and in the upper portion ofthe head 5 due to the narrow caliber of the slit 33, so that sooner orlater the particles must be removed. It is evident from the constructionalready described that it is but a simple matter to release the nut 29by placing a key wrench on the hexagonal portion 30 thereof andunscrewing the nut from the threaded nipple 25 when the nut and nozzle28 together will be released from the gun head 5. If the steam is thenturned on by valve means, not shown, whatever particles or fragments ofvarious materials, such as decayed rubber hose, may be lodged in thehead 5, will then be blown out clear of the passages 8 and 24, while onthe other hand, the nozzle'28 may be cleared out by merely placing thetip 32 thereof in the mouth and blowing the particles rearwardly outthrough the nozzle and through the nut 29, when the nozzle will again beclear and ready for service. Replacing the nut 29 on the threaded nipple25 with the nozzle 28 again engaging against the beveled or chamferedend 26 of the nipple and the nut tightened will again restore the entiregun into pristine condition to operate as a new device.

While a manually-operated valve could readily be included in theconstruction of the gun, I have chosen to omit the same inasmuch as thehose l2 may well lead to a more or less conventional valve-controlledsteam-spotting unit which has a pedal-operated valve controlling thefiow of steam to the steam-spotting gun, and such valve control forms noimmediate portion of this invention.

Manifestly, variations may be resorted to and parts and features may bemodified or used 4 without others within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having now fully described my invention, I claim:

1. A steam spotting gun comprising a hollow open ended handle, a firstsupporting means arranged within and adjacent one end of said handle andfixedly secured to the latter, a second supporting means arranged withinand adjacent the other end of said handle and fixedly secured to thelatter, there being an opening extending through each of said first andsecond supporting means, a steam tube extending through said hollowhandle in spaced relation with respect to the inner face of the latterand carried by said first and second named supporting means, one end ofsaid tube projecting beyond said first supporting means for connectionto a source of heated medium, a gun head on the other end of said tube,said gun head comprising a hollow body having an end rigidly connectedto said other end of the steam tube and another end formed as anexternally threaded nipple, a nozzle abutting and communicating withsaid nipple, and a tubular nut threaded on said nipple and circumposedon said nozzle and engaging a portion of said nozzle in a manner toremovably assemble said nozzle on said nipple.

2. A steam spotting gun comprising a hollow open ended handle, a firstsupporting means arranged within and adjacent one end of said handle andfixedly secured to the latter, a second supporting means arranged withinand adjacent the other end of said handle and fixedly secured to thelatter, there being an opening extending through each of said first andsecond supporting means, a steam tube extending through said hollowhandle in spaced relation with respect to the inner face of the latterand carried by said first and second named supporting means, one end ofsaid tube projecting beyond said first supporting means for connectionto a source of heated medium, a gun head on the other end of said tube,said gun head comprising a hollow body having an end rigidly connectedto said other end of the steam tube and another end formed as anexternally threaded nipple, a nozzle abutting and communicating withsaid nipple, and a tubular nut threaded on said nipple and circumposedon said nozzle and engaging a portion of said nozzle in a manner toremovably assemble said nozzle on said nipple, said nozzle being tubularand comprising a cylindrical end portion on which said tubular nut iscircumposed, and a flattened and laterally directed end portionterminating in a relatively narrow discharge slit.

HERMAN L. SCHWARTZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,584,925 Gunther May 18, 19261,633,800 Wilcox June 28, 1927 1,817,924 Madison Aug. 11, 1931 2,344,017Ashpes Mar. 14, 1944 2,445,592 Yanchenko July 20, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 473,430 France Sept. 22, 1914

